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In a significant shift, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is easing the restrictions on food labeling related to artificial colors. This change marks a notable departure from previous guidelines, opening the door for food producers to claim their offerings contain “no artificial colors” when petroleum-based dyes are absent, even if natural dyes sourced from plants are used.
Previously, the FDA mandated that such claims could only be made if products were entirely devoid of any added colors. However, this new policy, announced on Thursday, aligns with the Trump administration’s broader initiative to gradually eliminate synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary released a joint statement supporting this regulation update. They emphasized that allowing such claims should motivate companies to favor natural over synthetic coloring agents, enhancing the quality of foods consumed by families daily.
Makary stated, “By removing this obstacle, we are facilitating an environment where companies can more freely incorporate natural colors into the foods we eat regularly.”
“We are taking away that hindrance and making it easier for companies to use these colors in the foods our families eat every day,” Makary said in a statement.
Kennedy and Makary have urged U.S. companies to voluntarily remove synthetic dyes from their products — and many food makers, such as PepsiCo and Nestle, have complied. In addition, some states have taken steps to ban artificial dyes from school meals.
The move drew praise from Consumer Brands, a trade group for packaged foods, which said “all natural ingredients should continue to follow a rigorous science and risk-based evaluation process.”
“This is a positive example of the FDA taking the lead on ingredient safety and transparency,” Sarah Gallo, the group’s senior vice president, said in a statement.
But the label change could mislead consumers, said Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. It would allow a claim of “no artificial colors” for any color additive that is not a petroleum-based certified color, including potentially harmful additives such as titanium dioxide.
Also on Thursday, the FDA said it had approved a new natural dye, beetroot red, and expanded the use of spirulina extract, a color derived from algae that provides a blue hue in foods. The FDA currently allows roughly three dozen natural dyes in food products. The agency banned a controversial dye known as Red No. 3 last year and has proposed banning a rarely-used hue, Orange B.
The agency also recently said it would review the six remaining petroleum-based dyes frequently used in the U.S. food supply: Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing inconclusive studies that found they could cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues in some children. Other health experts have noted that bright synthetic colors are a key component of ultraprocessed foods marketed to children, increasing consumption of added sugar, fat and sodium that can lead to health problems.
Still, the FDA’s website on Thursday continued to acknowledge limited evidence for harms from artificial colors. “The totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives, but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them,” the site said.
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